Dark Forest
by Tahlia1
Summary: When Duo and Heero are sent to Mongolia, they are forced to make some strange realizations.


Title: Dark Forest - Prologue  
Author: Tahlia (tahlialerray@yahoo.com)  
Pairings: eventually 1+2  
Warnings: none yet- maybe a bit of confusion  
Feedback: Always helps a suffering ego.  
Archive: At the bottom.  
Author's Note: This was just too spiffy an idea that popped   
into my head to ignore. I had to follow through with it.   
There is more. All will be explained, hopefully.  
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Not mine - someone else's. No   
money is being made from this.   
-----  
  
A slim figure ran through the clear field, only visible in the darkness of the late night because of the full moon shining down upon him. It acted as if it were the world's largest spotlight aimed directly down on his near sprinting form, illuminating him for all eyes to see while plunging the rest of the world into complete and utter darkness. He ran as if his life depended on it, bearing down and making himself as aerodynamic as possible. Sharp glances behind him every minute or so were the only breaks to the continuous pattern of the beating of his feet, near silent on the soft, mossy grass spreading out for miles around him.   
  
::Keep running.::  
  
He ran on, a sense of panic overriding the urgency of minutes before. His look of calm, dedicated determination vanished as he looked behind himself once again. He kept running, his pace a steady guide, never rising nor lowering, though his body felt the strain of the long run acutely.  
  
::Run faster::  
  
A look of anger crossed his face, but his pace remained stable. He glared ahead of him, trying to see any place he could escape to. His ears picked up on a noise somewhere in the far distance. It was far enough behind him not to worry him, but close enough to renew his determination to keep going. He glanced back once again, seeing nothing in the midnight blackness. Even with the light from the moon shining down on the clearing, he could scarcely see four feet in front of him.   
  
::Forest ahead.::   
  
When the line of trees signaling the beginning of the forest became visible to the boy, he grabbed behind him, searching for something. He caught up a yard long braid in his hands and shoved it down the back of his jacket and pulled up the hood, pulling the drawstring tight around his chin.   
  
::Into the forest.::  
  
He glanced behind him once more before entering the foliage and slightly increasing the speed of his stride, pushing quickly into the heart of the forest. He paused slightly, his pace faltering for just a second. It was eerily quiet inside, a hushed fear emanating throughout the dark woodland.   
  
::Go.:  
  
He resumed his previous pace and continued on. A patter of ducking under limbs and jumping over roots, carefully scanning the area around him for any threats or unexpected projections in his path became his sole focus. He resembled a mere shadow in the night, a dark figure passing quietly and quickly through the trees, never in the same place for long. He seemed almost a phantom.  
  
::It's coming.::  
  
He didn't bother to glance back; he could hear it. It was closer. Much, much closer. He forced a tide of panic back down, knowing that he was through if he let his mind be overrun by his emotions.   
  
::It's coming!::  
  
He kept running, but his legs were getting weak. His muscles screamed at him in utter agony. He could barely feel his legs anymore, each limb merely a throbbing mass of tissue and nerves. He stumbled over a branch he hadn't seen, crashing to his knees on the floor of the forest. Pounding his fist in the soft earth below him, he got back up a quickly as possible and kept running until he could run no longer. He stopped dead in his tracks, his only movement the strong heaving of his chest. The forest was suddenly silent except for the harsh panting coming from the boy as he tried vainly to catch his breath. He glared down at the ground, angry with his body for giving out on him at such a crucial time. He calmed himself and continued his efforts to catch his breath. Now was not the time to berate his body. He had more important things to worry about.  
  
He turned around, eyes staring straight ahead of him into the darkness of the deep forest.   
  
::It's here.::  
  
-----  
TBC 


End file.
